Gas-fueled cigarette lighter

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a gas-fueled cigarette lighter, having a fuel tank of clear synthetic resin made up of upper and lower sections joined to form the fuel reservoir as well as the shutoff and flame height control valve housing, the flint tube, the refill valve guide and seat and a support for the operating mechanism. A bushing providing flame height adjusting stops is frictionally mounted in the bottom of the valve housing to permit the limits of the flame height adjustment to be changed in the course of manufacture or later during servicing by means of a simple tool. The tank is formed with a leaf spring which resiliently retains a decorative casing in position on the tank.

United States Patent Patented Dec, 28, 1971 Assignee Kreisler Manufacturing Corporation GAS-FUELED CIGARETTE LIGHTER Primary Examiner- Edward G. Favors Attorney-Shenier and O'Connor ABSTRACT: The invention relates to a gas-fueled cigarette lighter, having a fuel tank of clear synthetic resin made up of upper and lower sections joined to form the fuel reservoir as 8 Claims 4 Drawing Figs well as the shutoff and flame height control valve housing, the [1.8. CI 431/344, flint tube, the refill valve guide and seat and a support for the 431/130 operating mechanism. A bushing providing flame height ad- Int. Cl. F23q 2/16 justing stops is frictionally mounted in the bottom of the valve Field of Search 431/130, housing to permit the limits of the flame height adjustment to 138, 202, 254, 344 be changed in the course of manufacture or later during servicing by means of a simple tool. The tank is formed with a References Cited leaf spring which resiliently retains a decorative casing in posi- UNITED STATES PATENTS tion on the tank. 3,516,776 6/1970 Dieterle et al. 431/344 I I48 W2 /52 I 50 m9 58 I66 I66 24 76 56 444 I60 22 {4'0 /36 7 /62 q I36 L f 72 :3 9 {7O 0 74 jg 46 52 M2 88 TOKB/ I 52 90 14-? 4 )1 "N 54 0 /64 {00 km g! I04 I ag M 54 1 M 1 I u 5 2 9e 124 52 s g 96 46 /az-E {/6 "62 H0 44 foe f/Z Mgr 5O 4 s 3 1 64 $3 \I l \l 128 724 PATENTEB B6128 [an 3,6305 53 SHEET 2 BF 2 Fug 3 i 4 INVENTOR IVAN n. WRIGHT EMMflA/l/EL L. THEODOS/OU ATTORNEYS GAS-FUELED CIGARETTE LIGHTER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various forms of gas-fueled cigarette lighters are known to the prior art. Many of these lighters include a metal tank which contains a supply of normally gaseous liquefied fuel. Shutoff and refill valve assemblies are secured in openings in the tank top and bottom. In addition there is provided a flint tube which extends through the tank from the top to the bottom thereof. Owing to the need for mounting the valve assembly housings in the tank walls and to the large number of relatively small parts which go to make up the various assemblies which must be applied to the tank, assembly of the lighter is a time-consuming and relatively difficult task. Owing to the opacity of the tank the amount of fuel remaining is not visible to the user.

Many of the lighters known in the prior art are provided with fuel feed valve assemblies which include an on-off valve, a maximum flame height valve and a user flame height adjustment valve. Owing to the number of adjustments provided, these assemblies add to the complexity of assembling the lighter. Some of the assemblies of the prior art are provided with maximum flame height adjustments which are accessible to the user upon partial disassembly of the lighter, permitting him to adjust maximum flame height to a point at which it becomes dangerously high.

Most of the lighters of the prior art include a decorative casing which slips over the tank and which is held thereon by friction. In order to insure that the casing will be held on the tank sufficiently tightly and will not accidentally slip off, some of the assemblies of the prior art have operating mechanism frame legs which extend downwardly along the end walls of the tank for a short distance. These legs slightly deform the casing as it is slipped onto the tank firmly to hold the casing in place. While they accomplish that result, assembly and disassembly of the decorative casing on the tank such as is required for adjustment of the flint and the like is rendered relatively difficult and deformation of the casing is undesirable.

We have invented a gas-fueled cigarette lighter which is an improvement over cigarette lighters of the prior art. Our assembly includes a tank of clear plastic parts of which replace parts of the mechanisms which are applied to the tank in lighters of the prior art. The transparent tank pennits the user visually to determine the amount of fuel remaining. Our lighter incorporates a maximum flame height adjustment which is not accessible to the user, but which may be changed at the factory after a period of time in use of the lighter. Our lighter incorporates improved means for frictionally holding the decorative casing in position on the lighter tank. It is simpler in construction than most gas-fueled lighters of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One object of our invention is to provide a gas-fueled cigarette lighter which is an improvement over gas-fueled lighters of the prior art.

Another object of our invention is to provide an improved gas-fueled cigarette lighter having a clear plastic tank.

A further object of our invention is to provide an improved gas-fueled cigarette lighter, having a plastic tank integral parts of which replace parts of valve assemblies of the prior art.

Still another object of our invention is to permit the user to determine visually the amount of fuel remaining.

Another object of our invention is to provide a maximum flame height adjustment which is inaccessible to the user.

A still further object of our invention is to provide an improved gas-fueled lighter having improved means for retaining the decorative casing in position on the tank.

Other and further objects of our invention will appear from the following description:

In general, our invention contemplates the provision of an improved gas-fueled lighter in which the fuel tank is made up of upper and lower sections of transparent synthetic resin joined together so as to form a fuel reservoir, a shutoff and adjustment valve housing, a flint tube and a guide and seat for the refill valve. We frictionally mount a bushing providing flame height valve adjustment stops in the bottom of the shutoff and adjustment valve housing. We provide the tank with an integral leaf spring which frictionally holds the decorative casing in position on the tank;

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings to which reference is made in the instant specification, and in which light parts are indicated by the same reference characters in the various views:

FIG. I is a sectional view of our improved gas-fueled lighter construction.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan of a part of the tank of our improved gas-fueled lighter construction.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of our improved gasfueled lighter construction taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 and drawn on an enlarged scale.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the flame height adjustment control bushing of our improved gas-fueled lighter construction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, our improved gas-fueled lighter construction indicated generally by the reference character 10, includes a tank made up of an upper section 12 and a lower section 14 formed from any suitable transparent synthetic resin, having relatively good dimensional stability, such for example, as Lexan, which is a thermoplastic polycarbonate resin manufactured by the General Electric Company, Schenectady, N.Y. We join the upper and lower sections along a line 16 and seal the two parts by any suitable means, such for example, as by fusing them or the like. The tank carries an upper frame indicated generally by the reference character 18, having ends 20 and 22, two sides, one side 24 of which is shown in the drawings, and having a pair of crosspieces 26 and 28. The frame 18 is formed of any suitable material such as metal or the like. It carries the operating parts of the lighter in a manner to be described.

The upper section 12 of the tank is formed with a downwardly extending guide 30 having a bore 32 which slidably receives the rod 34 of a refill valve 36. A spring 38 bearing between a shoulder 40 in the refill valve housing 30 and valve 36 normally urges the valve into engagement with a seat 42 formed around the upper periphery of a refill opening 44 in the bottom of the lower tank section 14. A refill valve head 46 below the valve 36 is formed with a slot 48 which admits fuel to the tank when the valve 36 is displaced from seat 42 in a manner to be described. We provide the opening 44 with a shoulder 50 which cooperates with an adapter (not shown) when the refill operation takes place. In the course of a refill operation, valve 36 is moved upwardly out of engagement with seat 42, to permit fuel to flow through slot 48 and through openings 52 in housing 30 to the reservoir space formed by the tank sections I2 and 14.

Upper and lower sections 12 and 14 also cooperate to form a flint tube 54 which is open at the top and at the bottom of the tank. A flint guide 56 passes through the crosspiece 26 and is screwed into the upper end on tube 54. This tube guide 56 receives flint S8 and the flint feed element 60. A spring actuator 62 having a head 64 is threaded into the lower end of tube 54. The flint driving spring 66 extends between the actuator 62 and the driver 60. When the actuator 62 is threaded into the lower end of the flint tube it stresses spring 66 to drive the flint 58 upwardly as viewed in FIG. 1.

The parts 12 and 14 of the tank further cooperate to provide a valve housing 68 having an opening 70 through which fuel is admitted into the interior of the housing. We thread a burner tube and shutoff valve guide 72 into the upper end of the housing 68. The bore 74 of housing 72 slidably receives a burner tube 76 having a central fuel passage 78 and a wall opening 80 through which fuel is admitted into the bore 78 in a manner to be described. The lower end of tube 76 is provided with a recess which receives the shutoff valve 82 of the assembly. A spring 84 within the housing 72 bears between the upper end of bore 74 and a shoulder 86 on tube 76 normally to urge valve 82 into engagement with a seat 88 formed on a shutoff and adjusting valve seat forming element 90 located in the lower end of the bore 74 of housing 72. We provide the outside of housing 72 with an'annular groove 92 which receives an O-ring 94 which engages the inner wall of housing 68 with a gastight seal.

We position a fuel chamber-forming element 96 withinhousing 68 on a shoulder 98 formed in the inner wall thereof. A wick 100 extends through the opening 70 and through an opening 102 in element 96 to conduct fuel into the chamber formed by element 96. A washer 104 within element 96 limits movement downwardly of the wick 100 in a manner to be described. It will thus be seen that the portion of the wick within the chamber-forming element 96 is in a relaxed conditron.

The flame height adjusting mechanism of my lighter includes a bushing indicated generally by reference character 106 formed from any suitable material, such for example as a polycarbonate resin similar to that of which the tank sections 12 and 14 are formed. We provide the bushing 106 with an axially extending slit 108 in its wall to permit the bushing to be snapped into position in the lower end of housing 68 so that the bushing is frictionally held in position in the housing. An annular boss 110 on the bushing 106 cooperates with a shoulder in the inner wall of the housing to position the bushing in the housing. We so form 106 as to provide a pair of stops 112 and 114 located below the bottom of the tank section 14. The bore 116 of bushing 106 receives the shank 118 of the flame height adjusting valve 120 which is tapered so as to cooperate with a tapered opening or seat 122 formed in seat element 90 to regulate the flow of fuel through the space between valve 120 and seat 122. We screw a threaded portion 124 of shank 118 into the lower end of chamber forming element 96 so that as shank 118 is turned, valve 120 moves toward and away from seat 122. The portion of shank 118 extending below the bottom section 14 of the tank carries a serrated head 126 which receives a knob 128 provided with a stop 130 which cooperates with stops 112 and 114 to limit the rotary movement of shank 118. An O-ring 132 located between bushing 106 and a downwardly extending projection 134 on tank section 12 provides a fluidtight seal.

The operating mechanism of our lighter construction includes a burner operating lever 136 provided with an opening 138 through which the flint guide 56 is passed when the parts of the lighter are assembled. The portion of lever 136 at the sides of the opening 138 rides on a boss 140 formed on the upper tank section 12 to provide a surface on which the lever 136 can rock. Bifurcations 142 on the end of the lever 136 engage a head 144 at the top of the burner tube to raises the tube when the lever 136 rocks in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1. Respective bifurcations 146 at the other end of the lever are adapted to be actuated in a manner to be described to rock the lever 136 to raise the burner tube 76 to move shutoff valve 82 away from seat 88.

A shaft or pin 148 extending between the sidewalls 24 of the frame 18 rotatably supports a flint wheel 150 in a position at which it can engage the upper end of flint 58. Pin 148 also rotatably supports a snuffer cap 152 which is pivotally connected to a thumb piece 154 by respective pins 156. An operating arm 158 carries a pin 160 which rests in a journal 162 formed in crosspiece 28. A screw 164 extending through an opening 166 in a plate 168 and through crosspiece 28 is threaded into a support 170 formed in the upper tank section 12. A portion of plate 168 overlies the journal 162 to retain the arm 158 in position on the frame 18. Screw 164 also serves to retain the frame 18 in its assembled position on top of the tank section 12. A shaft 172 rotatably connects thumb piece 154 to arm 158. A spring 174 connected between a hook 176 on arm 158 and a lug 178 on plate 168 normally biases the parts to the position shown in FIG. 1. In that position, snuffer cap 152 engages frame end wall 20. When the thumb piece is pressed, arm 158 rotates in a clockwise direction to move pins 156 around the axis of shaft 148 to raise the snuffer cap to expose the burner. At the same time, by a mechanism known in the art, flint wheel 150 is driven in a clockwise direction to direct a shower of sparks from the flint toward the burner.

As the thumb piece 154 is operated in the manner described, the lower edges 180 of the sides thereof strike bifurcations 146 to rock lever 136 in a clockwise direction. This action raises burner tube 76 to move shutoff valve 82 away from seat 88 to permit fuel to flow out of the top of the burner tube bore 78.

We form the upper tank section 12 with a leaf spring 182 which normally occupies the broken line position shown in FIG. 1. An outer decorative casing 184 is adapted to be slid over the tank normally to conceal the knob 128 and the head 64. As the casing 184 moves up onto the tank, spring 182 moves from the broken line position to the full line position shown in FIG. 1.

In assembling our improved lighter, as the two sections 12 and 14 of the tank arejoined, the pilot rod 34 and valve 36 are placed in position therebetween and the sections are heat sealed at the seam 16. The shutoff and flame height adjusting valve parts are then assembled on the tank. First, the chamber forming element 96 is positioned on shoulder 98 and the wick is positioned in the chamber. Next the plunger tube guide 72 carrying the plunger 76 and the seat forming element 90 as well as the O-ring 94 is screwed into housing 68 until its flange engages the upper end of member 96 to hold it in position. When these operations are completed, O-ring 132 and bushing 106 are assembled in the lower end of housing 68.

Lever 136 is positioned on the tank with its opening 138 adjacent bosses 140. Frame 18 is placed in position and the flint guide 56 is screwed into place. Next the snuffer cap 152, thumb piece 154, arm 158 and plate 168 are assembled on the tank. Finally, spring 174 and the flint wheel are placed in position and the pivotal connection provided by shaft 148 is made to complete assembly of the operating mechanism.

Valve and its shank 118 are assembled in position by threading shank portion 124 into the lower portion of the chamber-forming element 90 before knob 128 is applied to head 126 The tank is now filled with fuel to permit the flame height adjustment to be made. When the valve 120 has been so positioned as will provide the desired flame height adjustment over an arc of rotation corresponding to the spacing of stops 112 and 114, knob 128 is assembled on head 126 at such a position as will cause stop to engage stops 112 and 114 at the ends of the arc. Lastly, decorative casing 184 is applied to the tank and is held in position thereon by spring 182.

The initial factory adjustment may be at limits lying on the line A-B in FIG. 3 wherein position A represents maximum flame height and position B represents minimum flame height. After a period of time in use of the lighter wear on the parts of the flame-height-adjusting mechanism may be such that the maximum height is too high and the minimum height is not low enough. Adjustment can be made when servicing the lighter merely by turning the bushing 106 by use of a simple spanner wrench to a position at which the stops 112 and 114 lie along line A'-B'. Thus the flame height adjustment can be changed simply when servicing but not readily by the user.

When the user wishes to determine the amount of fuel remaining he merely removes the decorative casing 184. He can then easily observe the remaining fuel and refill the tank if required. The casing can be slipped on and off an almost unlimited number of times without distortion and without failure of the leaf spring 182.

It will be seen that we have accomplished the objects of our invention. We have provided an improved gas-fueled lighter construction in which the tank is transparent to permit the remaining supply of fuel to be observed. Our tank integrally forms parts of assemblies which heretofore were separate and had to be secured to the tank. Our construction provides means for easily changing the flame height adjustment during servicing while preventing the customer from changing the adjustment. We provide simple means for retaining the decorative casing on the tank without distorting the latter.

lt will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of our claims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made in details within the scope of our claims without departing from the spirit of our invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that our invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a gas-fueled lighter an assembly including in combination, an upper tank section formed of transparent synthetic resin, said upper tank section providing a top wall, a lower tank section formed of transparent synthetic resin, said lower tank section providing a bottom wall, means for joining said upper and lower sections with a gastight seal to form a fuel reservoir, respective flint tube-forming portions respectively integral with the upper and lower sections extending upwardly from said bottom wall and downwardly from said top wall to form a flint tube extending vertically through said reservoir, respective control valve housing portions respectively integral with said upper and lower sections extending upwardly from said bottom wall and downwardly from said top wall to form a control valve housing, a refill valve seat forming portion integral with said lower section extending upwardly from said bottom wall, said seat-forming portion formed with a valve seat at the upper edge thereof, a refill valve guide portion integral with said upper section extending downwardly from said top wall, said guide portion being formed with a valve stem receiving recess and with an abutment outside said recess, a valve having a stem disposed in said recess, and a spring bearing between said abutment and said valve to urge said valve into engagement with said seat.

2. A lighter as in claim 1 in which said upper section comprises an integrally formed external leaf spring at one end wall thereof.

3. A tank as in claim 1 in which said upper section includes a screw receiving mounting portion.

4. A tank as in claim 1 including a bushing frictionally mounted, in said valve housing adjacent the bottom of said tank, said bushing forming limit stops externally of said reservorr.

5. In a gas-fueled lighter, a tank formed of synthetic resin having an end wall and an integral leaf spring formed on the outsidepf said end wall.

6. In a gas-fueled lighter, an assembly including a tank having a top wall and a bottom wall, a valve housing extending through said tank from said top wall to said bottom wall, means in said housing forming a flame-height-adjusting valve seat, a flame-height-adjusting valve, means comprising a bushing assembled in said housing adjacent said bottom wall with a frictional fit for mounting said valve for movement toward and away from said seat in response to rotary movement thereof, and interengageable means on said valve and on said bushing for limiting the rotary movement of said valve to less than one revolution thereof.

7. An assembly as in claim 6 including a shank on said valve extending below said bottom wall, a knob on said shank, said interengageable means comprising angularly spaced stops on said bushing and a stop on said knob for engaging said bushing stops at rotary limit positions of said valve, said bushing being accessible for adjustment of the angular position thereof.

8. An assembly as in claim 7 in which said knob is assembled on said shank with a force fit. 

1. In a gas-fueled lighter an assembly including in combination, an upper tank section formed of transparent synthetic resin, said upper tank section providing a top wall, a lower tank section formed of transparent synthetic resin, said lower tank section providing a bottom wall, means for joining said upper and lower sections with a gastight seal to form a fuel reservoir, respective flint tube-forming portions respectively integral with the upper and lower sections extending upwardly from said bottom wall and downwardly from said top wall to form a flint tube extending vertically through said reservoir, respective control valve housing portions respectively integral with said upper and lower sections extending upwardly from said bottom wall and downwardly from said top wall to form a control valve housing, a refill valve seat forming portion integral with said lower section extending upwardly from said bottom wall, said seatforming portion formed with a valve seat at the upper edge thereof, a refill valve guide portion integral with said upper section extending downwardly from said top wall, said guide portion being formed with a valve stem receiving recess and with an abutment outside said recess, a valve having a stem disposed iN said recess, and a spring bearing between said abutment and said valve to urge said valve into engagement with said seat.
 2. A lighter as in claim 1 in which said upper section comprises an integrally formed external leaf spring at one end wall thereof.
 3. A tank as in claim 1 in which said upper section includes a screw receiving mounting portion.
 4. A tank as in claim 1 including a bushing frictionally mounted in said valve housing adjacent the bottom of said tank, said bushing forming limit stops externally of said reservoir.
 5. In a gas-fueled lighter, a tank formed of synthetic resin having an end wall and an integral leaf spring formed on the outside of said end wall.
 6. In a gas-fueled lighter, an assembly including a tank having a top wall and a bottom wall, a valve housing extending through said tank from said top wall to said bottom wall, means in said housing forming a flame-height-adjusting valve seat, a flame-height-adjusting valve, means comprising a bushing assembled in said housing adjacent said bottom wall with a frictional fit for mounting said valve for movement toward and away from said seat in response to rotary movement thereof, and interengageable means on said valve and on said bushing for limiting the rotary movement of said valve to less than one revolution thereof.
 7. An assembly as in claim 6 including a shank on said valve extending below said bottom wall, a knob on said shank, said interengageable means comprising angularly spaced stops on said bushing and a stop on said knob for engaging said bushing stops at rotary limit positions of said valve, said bushing being accessible for adjustment of the angular position thereof.
 8. An assembly as in claim 7 in which said knob is assembled on said shank with a force fit. 